I have just ordered a 430HA (no DAC). Once I have the unit, and have 300+ hours on it, I will post some thoughts.
 
Expecting great things from this amp both with headphones and as a preamp. Simaudio make excellent gear.
 
I am hoping it has the slightly warm from neutral sound signature that Simaudio seem to have.
 
Also hoping that 8W from the "overspecced" power supply is enough to make my HE6 shine - it would be great to a SS counterpart to my WA5 for driving the HE6.

I now have over 100 hrs on my 430ha. I am relatively new to the desk top headphone scene. I am basically a 2 channel speaker guy which started when my dad bought his 1st decent stereo system in the late 70's. I have dabbled with portable system (i had bought redwine imod, rsa sr 71 amp and grado rs1).  I had always wanted a pair of sennheiser hd800 but resisted buying it since i knew i would have to buy a new amp , source etc. I found a pair of hd800 at very good price. Being a speaker guy , i knew of bryston so i bought a bha-1 .  The hd800 sounded very good on the bryston  but there were moments where the highs can cause you to grind your teeth.  I have always admire moon products and i had a chance to hear the 430ha at the toronto stereo show. With very few reviews, i took a chance and bought one.
 
  I am using the moon 430ha (amp only) with hd800 and the chord hugo as the dac. I can only compare the moon to the bryston since i have not heard any other headphone amp.  I can say the moon is better in all respect compared to the bryston. I notice more details while playing the moon. For example, in alan parson lets talk about me (vulture culture), at the start of the song each channel has a recording of a news caster talking. The left and right channel are 2 different newscaster talking about different things. I could never completely understand what they where saying but on the moon i could understand what they are saying. In another song which i have heard many times ,i thought it was the main singer with 1 background vocalist but with the moon i could hear that there were 2 background singers.
   The 430ha has excellent bass (like an iron fist in a velvet glove). It not only goes deep but the bass has more texture and i could hear the pitch of each note better than the bryston. The bass is not overbearing.  It can hit hard when the music calls for it but if the song does not have much bass the 430ha  won't emphasize it.
    The midrange is very clean and not overly warm or euphonic. This is the way I like it. It captures the emotions of the vocalists and does both male and females beautifully.
    The high are very detailed and clear. It seems to work very well with the hd800 in that i have yet to experience those shill highs that i sometimes get with the bryston. On bright recordings , i definately will know it is bright but it is tolerable.
    I don't have much to say about soundstage, other than it is very wide and deep.  I value detail, slam and speed more than i do the soundstage.
    Finally , the moon is more musical than the bryston. I find myself tapping my feet or bobbing my head while listening to music more than i did with the bryston.  I don't know if the sound will further improve with use but it is sounding pretting damm fine now.  Now I find myself wanting to buy another set of headphones (waiting for the new hifiman depending on the price or maybe a pair of audeze). I have to stop reading this website.

alinto said:

....   I am using the moon 430ha (amp only) with hd800 and the chord hugo as the dac. I can only compare the moon to the bryston since i have not heard any other headphone amp.  I can say the moon is better in all respect compared to the bryston. I notice more details while playing the moon. For example, in alan parson lets talk about me (vulture culture), at the start of the song each channel has a recording of a news caster talking. The left and right channel are 2 different newscaster talking about different things. I could never completely understand what they where saying but on the moon i could understand what they are saying. In another song which i have heard many times ,i thought it was the main singer with 1 background vocalist but with the moon i could hear that there were 2 background singers.
   The 430ha has excellent bass (like an iron fist in a velvet glove). It not only goes deep but the bass has more texture and i could hear the pitch of each note better than the bryston. The bass is not overbearing.  It can hit hard when the music calls for it but if the song does not have much bass the 430ha  won't emphasize it.
    The midrange is very clean and not overly warm or euphonic. This is the way I like it. It captures the emotions of the vocalists and does both male and females beautifully.
    The high are very detailed and clear. It seems to work very well with the hd800 in that i have yet to experience those shill highs that i sometimes get with the bryston. On bright recordings , i definately will know it is bright but it is tolerable.
    I don't have much to say about soundstage, other than it is very wide and deep.  I value detail, slam and speed more than i do the soundstage.
    Finally , the moon is more musical than the bryston. I find myself tapping my feet or bobbing my head while listening to music more than i did with the bryston.  I don't know if the sound will further improve with use but it is sounding pretting damm fine now.  Now I find myself wanting to buy another set of headphones (waiting for the new hifiman depending on the price or maybe a pair of audeze). I have to stop reading this website.

Click to expand...

 
Thank you for posting your impressions. I now feel a lot better about ordering a Simaudio 430HA unheard
 
The Bryston has a reputation for being a little bright. Simaudio have a reputation for being slightly warm of neutral - which is what I am looking for - neutral with a hint of warmth.
 
Have you modded your HD800? I did the adhesive foam mod and it really helped to tame the feral treble.

Having just found out about this amp, colour me interested.

tonynewman said:

   
Thank you for posting your impressions. I now feel a lot better about ordering a Simaudio 430HA unheard

 
The Bryston has a reputation for being a little bright. Simaudio have a reputation for being slightly warm of neutral - which is what I am looking for - neutral with a hint of warmth.
 
Have you modded your HD800? I did the adhesive foam mod and it really helped to tame the feral treble.

Click to expand...

I have not modded my hd800. As i am a man with many thumbs, i am afraid of damaging it. Using the moon, i don't find the treble that much of a problem.

Is the Moon 430HA dead silent with low impendance phones like LCD-XC, TH900, T5p oder Signature Pro?

alinto said:

 
I have not modded my hd800. As i am a man with many thumbs, i am afraid of damaging it. Using the moon, i don't find the treble that much of a problem.

Click to expand...

 
I am a ham-fisted, knuckle-dragging neanderthal and my HD800 mod was a breeze - no damage that I can detect, but if the treble is not a bother for you than there is no need to risk it.
 
Should be taking delivery of my 430HA sometime this week - really looking forward to seeing what this thing can do.

Preproman and I had the chance to put a Wavelength Proton thru the I600 125w speaker amp into the HE-6s. Pure amazement at the expanded soundstage and positioning in a 3-d illusion the i600 offered. Best I've heard a headphone. If they can capture that sound in this, it would be end game.

trance_gott said:

  Is the Moon 430HA dead silent with low impendance phones like LCD-XC, TH900, T5p oder Signature Pro?

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I just tried it with an older grado rs-1 which i think is 35ohm. It is silent and i had it playing loud.

happy camper said:

Preproman and I had the chance to put a Wavelength Proton thru the I600 125w speaker amp into the HE-6s. Pure amazement at the expanded soundstage and positioning in a 3-d illusion the i600 offered. Best I've heard a headphone. If they can capture that sound in this, it would be end game.

Click to expand...

 
The comments you and Preep made about the Simaudio integrateds is why I'm so intrigued by this... It looks like the audiophile heavyweights (Simaudio, McIntosh, Pass Labs, etc) are making moves into this market, so it's going be very interesting to see how it all plays out. The next 12-18 months should be pretty incredible for high-end headphone amplification, and I for one am stoked!!!

alinto said:

 
I just tried it with an older grado rs-1 which i think is 35ohm. It is silent and i had it playing loud.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Very excited about this as I'm a owner of few moons and they are amazing...
more impressions please...
 

metalboss said:

  Very excited about this as I'm a owner of few moons and they are amazing...
more impressions please...

 

Click to expand...

 
Was expecting mine to arrive sometime last week - but no 430HA This is what happens when you live at the bottom of the world
 
I have been Googling hard to find some more information on the 430HA - so far there is the brief review by Steve Guttenberg on Cnet and a preview on Forbes. Apart from that I have found a handful of user comments - all very positive. I would expected more noise on the web from a new release from Simaudio - I guess HeadFi is showing its niche status?

Looking forward to your impressions Tony. Will you be coming to the Auckland meet later in the year?

Auckland meet <slaps forehead>?